


Take My Hand and Drag Me Headfirst

by hoeziertozier



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - High School, Dancing in the Rain, Established Relationship, Fluff without Plot, Its only fluff, Kissing in the Rain, M/M, Pennywise happens but they don't forget each other, Talking About The Future, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, follows the 2017 movie timeline, i'm also really bad at summaries, idk what this is it's just super cute ok, nothing else, oh and the other losers are just mentioned they're not actually in this, they're like 17 in this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-06
Updated: 2018-04-06
Packaged: 2019-04-19 07:41:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14232513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hoeziertozier/pseuds/hoeziertozier
Summary: Eddie and Richie talk about the future and dance in the rain.





	Take My Hand and Drag Me Headfirst

**Author's Note:**

> Title from 'Fearless' by Taylor Swift. It has no relevance to the plot, except for that one line about dancing in a storm.

Eddie leaned against his boyfriend’s chest, who wrapped his left hand around his waist, his right one flicking a cigarette. They were sitting on the hood of Richie's truck, which was parked on the edge of hill looking over Derry. It was mid October, the sky was overcast with dark clouds, and the city lights somehow stood out prominently despite the haze. All in all, it was a beautiful sight.

Eddie sighed softly. “Derry doesn't seem so dangerous from up here.”

Richie took a long drag of his cigarette. Eddie would normally complain about the cancer sticks, but right now he found the smell comforting. He found everything about Richie comforting. 

“It seems so peaceful,” he continued, “Not like the kind of place that's home to…”

“Ignorant assholes who can't accept people for who they are?” Richie supplied, tossing the butt of the cigarette onto the ground. 

“You should put it out before you throw it away, it could set the grass on fire,” Eddie chastised, “and I was going to say ‘home to a child-eating demonic clown’, but I guess that works too.”

Richie buried his nose in his hair. “At least the clown leaves us alone for 27 years. We've got to deal with those fuckwads on a daily basis.”

Eddie played with Richie's slim fingers. “We'll make it through. We've got each other. And the Losers.”

“We do. But I'm getting out of here once I'm eighteen. This town can kiss my ass goodbye.”

Richie always spoke about leaving. Every time he'd have a nightmare, or his parents would just become too much to handle, and he'd crawl through Eddie's bedroom window, they'd spend the night lying next to each other on his too small twin bed, shoulders brushing, talking about the future. Richie was clear about his plans. He was going to leave Derry and head to California, become a household name with his Voices and make his mark in the history of show business. Eddie, on the other hand had no idea what he wanted to do, or where he was going to go. Whenever he tried to pictures his life ten years from now, it turned up blank. For some reason, no matter how much he hated her, he didn't want to leave his mother. He didn't want to leave his friends. He didn't want to leave Richie. He didn't want to leave Derry.

Well, he did want to leave Derry, maybe move to a place more accepting, but he didn't want to leave the comfort, the familiarity. 

“What about you, Spaghetti Man?”

Eddie huffed. “Don't call me that, Rich. And… I don't know. I'll leave too, I guess.”

Richie saw right through his lie, he always did. He nuzzled his nose into his cheek and left a soft kiss there. “What's wrong, love?”

Eddie sank further into his arms. “I'm just… I'm scared, Richie. I don't want to forget, you know? Bev was gone for barely a year and she couldn't even remember all our names. What if once we're gone we start forgetting? I don't want that to happen. I don't want to lose the memories, the comfort, the familiarity. I don't want to lose the Losers. I don't want to lose you.”

Richie tightened his grip around his waist. “You're not going to lose me, Eddie. I promise you that.”

He turned to look at his boyfriend. Even in the dim moonlight, he found nothing but pure conviction and sincerity in his chocolate eyes. “You really believe that?”

“ ‘Course I do. How can I forget a cute ass like yours?” He grinned and cupped his butt with one hand.

Eddie rolled his eyes. “There you go, ruining the moment.”

“We were having a moment?” He looked genuinely lost.

“Yes we were, dipshit. I basically told you how you're the most important person in the world to me, and you commented on my butt. I'm not surprised though, you're pretty predictable.”

Richie ran his thumb across his cheek and smiled fondly. “You're the most important person in the world to me, too, Eds. I fucking love you. Even amnesia won't make me forget you, you can count on that.” He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his lips. It was more gentle but just as heartfelt as all the kisses they'd shared in the three months they'd been together.

Eddie grabbed his jacket and pulled him in to deepen the kiss, but was interrupted by heavy drops of rain falling on his head all of a sudden. He quickly scrambled off Richie's lap and got into the car before he got drenched. Richie laughed loudly and slowly slid off the hood. He shrugged off his jacket and threw it onto the backseat. He leaned on his elbows on the door and grinned at Eddie.

“What the fuck are you doing, Richie? Don't stand out in the rain, you catch a cold and fall sick.”

He batted his eyelashes seductively. “And you can nurse me back to health, Dr. K.”

Eddie frowned. “Hell no. I'm not coming anywhere near that mouth for a week at the least.”

Richie pouted. “Why you gotta hurt me like this, baby?”

His cheeks turned bright red, Richie knew exactly how flustered that pet name made him. “Shut up and get inside, Rich, you're getting drenched.”

Richie wiggled his eyebrows. “Oooh, but you like getting me wet, don't ya, Spaghetti Head?”

Eddie looked over at him. His wet curls were sticking to his forehead and his shirt was clinging to his torso, showing off his muscle definition (or lack thereof). His glasses were covered in droplets, and Eddie had no idea if he could see anything through them.

“You look like a cartoon. Take your glasses off, dweeb.”

Richie took them off and chucked them into the glove compartment. He squinted at Eddie. “So are you going to join me or nah?”

“Nu-uh, you can destroy your health on your own, thank you very much.”

“It'll be a fever at worst, Eddie, don't be dramatic.”

“Have you ever heard of acid rain? It destroys marble, imagine what it can do to your skin! Not to mention it can enter your system and poison you.”

“That's bullshit, Eds. How is it going to enter my system anyway? It's not like I'm drinking it.”

He drowned out Eddie's response by turning up the radio. Some 50s song was playing. Richie stuck his hand out. “Dance with me Eds!”

“Don't call me that! And absolutely not. There's no way I'm going to fall sick. My mom will have an aneurysm.”

“Fuck your mom, Eddie!” Richie paused to reassess his words. “Well, not literally, that's my job. What I'm saying is, it doesn't matter what she thinks. Just let go once in a while.”

Eddie opened his mouth to argue, but clamped it shut as the song changed. Whitney Houston’s voice rang out into the night. _Fuck it_ , he thought, and grabbed Richie's hand. Even if he didn't go out, Richie would pass the cold to him, and he'd fall sick anyway.

As soon as he left the car, he was hit a thousand raindrops. Within seconds, he was shivering. “This was a terrible idea.”

Richie chuckled and wrapped his arms around the smaller boy. “Don't worry, bug, I'll keep you warm with my extreme hotness.”

“Oh boy, I'm so hot right now,” Eddie deadpanned. “You said you wanted to dance?”

Richie grabbed his hands and dragged him to a clearing a few feet away. He spun him around to the beats of the song. Eddie tried to act like he wasn't enjoying it, but the broad smile on his face gave him away. Richie was a terrible dancer, he stumbled over his own limbs, and the rain made him even more unsteady. 

The song changed to _Dancing Queen_ , and Eddie could barely contain his squeal. “I love this song!”

Richie laughed. “I know you do, Eds! C’mon, show me your moves, Dancing Queen!”

Eddie moved and jumped around, shouting the lyrics on the top of his lungs, so glad nobody could hear them out there. “YOU ARE THE DANCING QUEEN, YOUNG AND SWEET, ONLY SEVENTEEEEEEEEEEEN!!!”

Richie picked him up and spun him around in his arms. Eddie laughed loudly and clutched his shoulders. “Put me down, Richie!”

Richie shook his head and clutched his thighs. Eddie kicked the air in an effort to get his boyfriend to let go, but he only tightened his grip.

“Don't make me drop you, Eds, cause I will!”

Eddie huffed and gave up. Slowly, Richie set him down and wrapped his arms around his waist.

“I meant it, Eds.”

“What?”

“I'm never going to forget you. It's not going to happen.”

Eddie grabbed his face and stroked his cheek. He was so in love with the boy in front of him. “I won't forget you either. You're my everything.” 

He stood on his toes and planted a soft, firm kiss on his lips. Their mouths fit together like puzzle pieces. They were meant to be, nothing would ever change that. 

Richie ran his thumb over his lower lip, coaxing it open, and sliding his tongue inside. Their mouths moved together in perfect unison. There, in that moment, in the rain, on a cliff overlooking the town of Derry, they were one.

They continued making out in the rain with the radio playing in the background, forgetting about everything else in the world. 

They broke apart for air, resting their foreheads together.

“Come with me,” whispered Richie.

“What?”

“Come with me to Cali. When we're old enough. I want you to.”

Suddenly, that blank space started to form an image. He could picture his life ten years from now. It involved a young man with wild, curly black hair, warm eyes and freckles, pale skin and plump pink lips. It involves a closet full of pastel polo t-shirts and ridiculous Hawaiian print shirts, with the occasional neon windbreaker. It involved The Cure playing in the kitchen as they made breakfast together. It involved falling in Richie's lanky arms every night and waking up to his kisses every morning. It involved comfort and familiarity, but above all, it involved love and happiness, and Eddie didn't want anything else.

“Okay.”

Eddie didn't know what the future held for him. In some hours he could be sick, in some weeks he could be exhausted, in some months he could be graduating, and in some years he could be fighting a demonic clown. He didn't know what would happen. But he did know this. No matter what the future held for him, Richie Tozier would be a part of it. For better or for worse.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave kudos and comments!
> 
> Come yell at me on tumblr: hoeziertozier.tumblr.com


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